Ford family

My grandmother was known as the Woman with the Ford in our town of Reading, MA. She was the only woman driving. I am not sure of the year.

Florence Stockbridge Sargent, the woman with the Ford.

I thought of it today when my daughter wrote me telling she was looking at used car from Bonnell Motors in Winchester, MA. I was amused because she lives in Malden, not Winchester. She had found the dealership our family always used.

My Dad was a salesman so he put a lot of mileage on his car. My mother kept her cars longer because her mileage was lot lower. 

At least every two years, we would pile into my Dad's old car and go over to Bonnell to talk to Mac. He was tall and a bit egg-shaped, but he greeted us as long-lost friends, remarked on my and my brother's growth, checked in on family news.

With a week, the new car would be in the driveway.

I don't think we were a Ford family for any particular reason. After my parents divorce my father switched to Pontiac's than Cadillac's and when he retired Buick's. Both my mother and my stepmom drove Mustangs. My sister loaned one brand-new Mustang to a friend who had a painful meeting with a tree. My mother loved her Mustang.

Last night she said she found the right car. Fortunately she lives where she can get to the T for public transportation. In Five years she only drove her last car about 13,000 miles.  During the transition she has left her car with her nephew so he can practice on it.

As for me...I proudly didn't need a car for 20 years. Now we have one. We always choose a used one, we always pay cash. And we don't buy from Bonnell because we live on another continent.ac would be long gone anyway.